In the meantime, please continue to read my main blog project, A Food Year, and, if you’re unfamiliar, introduce yourselves to Grist, Politics of the Plate and Food Politics for all your food industry awareness and politicking needs.

Thanks for reading!

Ken

Burgers have since expanded from fast food and diner fare to the gourmet, dressed up with signature extravagant fare from truffled aioli to seared foie gras, making them ubiquitous in any culinary landscape. You can find them as tiny sliders or mammoth record breakers. No matter what the size or establishment, burgers are always the worst item to choose from a menu. Or are they?

Let’s be frank (is that a hot dog pun in a hamburger post? It may be…): there may often be healthier options than a hamburger, and indeed there are many things emulsified into those patties and thrown between the buns at your average fast food haunt that you should probably avoid putting into your body with any regular occurrence. The thing is, for the most part, people are aware of that. Everyone might not know to what extent a hamburger is detrimental or not, but a hamburger is not masquerading as health food. In fact, a lot of companies somehow make their money strictly by promoting how unhealthy their hamburgers are.

For a lot of people the clear alternative to a hamburger is a Caesar salad. The very word “salad” conjures up images of something healthy and nutritious, like crunchy greens picked fresh from the garden. This image can be deceiving. It’s definitely never been disputed that vegetables are good for you, but a Caesar salad consists in large part the same refined flour (croutons), cheese (Parmesan), bacon and fat (creamy dressing) as a hamburger does. So to be fair, let’s look at how a hamburger and Caesar salad compare nutritionally.

First, since it’s easier to define and measure the source ingredients, let’s compare a homemade version of each of these foods, and then we’ll do a breakdown of some common fast food variants.

Hamburger Total: 587 calories, 37.1g fat (15.5g saturated), 33.9g protein and 28.1g carbohydrates

Hamburger significant (>10% RDA) nutrition: 38% B6, 122% B12, 27% calcium, 26% copper, 53% iron, 12% magnesium, 50% niacin, 58% phosphorus, 12% potassium, 37% riboflavin, 68% selenium, 72% sodium, 26% thiamin, 58% zinc

Recipe courtesy of Food Network Canada

Yields 10 ounces

Caesar dressing total: 1063 calories, 114.4g fat, 7.8g protein and 5.5g carbohydrates

Caesar dressing significant (>10% RDA) nutrition: 20% B12, 11% vitamin C, 110% vitamin E, 12% copper, 30% iron, 21% niacin, 18% phosphorus, 13% riboflavin, 41% selenium, 50% sodium

Caesar salad total (without dressing): 257 calories, 13.3g fat (6.6g saturated), 18g protein and 16.8g carbohydrates
Caesar salad total (with dressing): 680 calories, 59.5g fat (13.6g saturated), 18.9g protein and 19.3g carbohydrates
Caesar salad significant (>10% RDA) nutrition: 50% Vitamin A, 13% vitamin B6, 23% vitamin B12, 38% vitamin C, 29% vitamin E, 43% calcium, 14% copper, 31% iron, 16% niacin, 48% phosphorus, 21% riboflavin, 37% selenium, 113% sodium, 21% thiamin and 16% zinc

All nutritional information tallied through Fitday

Obviously not everyone makes their burgers the same way or dresses their salad with the same amount of dressing, but this is a reasonably fair comparison. Since this can be difficult to read at a glance, I will highlight the significant information.

Calories
Burger: 587
Salad: 680

Fat
Burger: 37.1g
Salad: 59.5g

Protein
Burger: 33.9g
Salad: 18.9g

Carbohydrates
Burger: 28.1g
Salad: 19.3g

Overall Nutrition
If we dropped an ounce of dressing, both the burger and salad are more or less equivilent in calories and fat. Adding a comparitive amount of chicken (4 ounces) to the salad would add 200 or so calories and bring the protein content up to exceed the burger. Overall, the salad trumps the burger with significantly more vitamin A from the lettuce, vitamin C from the lemon and vitamin E from the olive oil, but the burger beats the salad, in large part due to the beef, with significantly more B12, iron, zinc and magnesium.

So let’s call it a draw.

Fast Food Comparisons

I’ll list the total calories per available serving using the same fast food restaurants I used in my French Fries Versus Onion Rings post. There will be omissions for A&W and Dairy Queen, who don’t have a Caesar salad-like option, and Arby’s, who doesn’t make hamburgers. Otherwise, I’ve tried to align 1/4 pound burgers with cheese and bacon versus their Caesar salad counterparts (who are usually cheaped out of their bacon and cheese, but I digress).

McDonald’s Mighty Caesar Salad with Dressing (0.439 cal/g)
Serving size: 224g
510 calories
45g fat
17g carbohydrates
7g protein

McDonald’s Quarter Pounder with Cheese (0.377 cal/g)
Serving size: 200g
530 calories
28g fat
41g carbohydrates
30g protein

Wendy’s Bacon Deluxe Single (0.416 cal/g)
Serving size: 266g
640 calories
36g fat
43g carbohydrates
35g protein

Wendy’s Spicy Chicken Caesar Salad (0.554 cal/g)
Serving size: 421g
760 calories
49g fat
43g carbohydrates
39g protein

Burger King Whopper with Bacon and Cheese
Serving size: ?
770 calories
47g fat
52g carbohydrates
34g protein

Burger King “Garden Salad” with Caesar Dressing
Serving size: ? (small container)
280 calories
24g fat
12g carbohydrates
6g protein

A&W Cheddar Bacon Uncle Burger (0.424 cal/g)
Serving size: 301g
710 calories
46g fat
39g carbohydrates
37g protein

DQ Bacon Cheese Grillburger (0.386 cal/g)
Serving size: 243g
630 calories
37g fat
44g carbohydrates
30g protein

Most calories per serving: Burger King Whopper with Cheese and Bacon (770 calories)
Most fat per serving: Wendy’s Spicy Chicken Caesar Salad (49g), runner up: Burger King Whopper with Bacon and Cheese (47g)
Most protein per serving: Spicy Chicken Caesar Salad (39g), runner up: A&W Cheddar Bacon Uncle Burger (37g)
Most calories per gram (cal/g): Wendy’s Spicy Chicken Caesar Salad (0.554 cal/g)

Conclusion

What does all of this prove? Not much really. Fast food, nearly all fast food, is not a particularly healthy choice, and, if you looked at the ingredient lists for these items, you’d know to be better off invariably making these foods at home. That, and I like to take a really long time to illustrate very little: Caesar salads are not health food — the end!

Many eyes were definitely on Chara during the 7 game playoff series between the Montreal Canadiens and Boston Bruins, not just because of this incident, but because of his more favorable resume attributes, such as being one of the league’s top defensemen, having a record breaking slap shot and being captain of his team.

It was not surprising when the camera panned to him in the third period, but it was curious to see Chara raise a dwarfed bottle of Coca-Cola to rehydrate while on the bench. Not only because Coke isn’t something you think of when it comes to sports drinks, but because the only branded containers allowed all carry Gatorade logos. Naturally, Chara was advised to discontinue this practice in the future, (though NHL athletes are allowed to consume whatever beverages they like as long as they’re in appropriately branded or unbranded containers), since Pepsi, the owner of Gatorade, doesn’t like the competitive advertising.

As an isolated incident it would be a trivial thing to hinder the marketing partnership between the NHL and Pepsi, especially since Coca-Cola’s Powerade would most likely quickly sweep in if Gatorade ever pulled out. However, as a lone incident, it certainly has more viral marketing appeal. This is especially true with the circulating sensationalist title of “Chara’s Coke Problem”. The media are basically feeding a campaign for Coke, based on footage shorter than the average commercial. At the time of writing this, it was the #1 news story on Canoe. That’s saying a lot, considering Osama Bin Laden was announced dead less than 24 hours ago and the royal wedding just wrapped up.

To say that this was an actual promotional stunt would be purely speculative, but Coca-Cola could not have chosen a better candidate if it were. After all, Chara is the captain of the team that would go on to win in overtime of game 7, in a series between hockey franchises of storied and lengthy rivalries, who fought back after being hospitalized for dehydration in the series, only to choose Coke over Gatorade to replenish himself when crunch time hit in the third period. That single shot of Chara with a Coke will resonate closer to home than the usual banner of paid advertisements muted in the background of the rink and the commercials otherwise delegated to muffled background noise during bathroom breaks and refrigerator runs.

I was flipping through those take out menu collections that arrive in the mailbox every other month and end up in our recycling bin soon afterward and Anancy stood out like a sore thumb amongst the Canadian-Chinese and souvlaki slash pizzerias. They have somewhat recently renovated and it just sort of stuck that this might be a good bet.

The renovations are quite nice for what they are, the small space has a very warm feeling that doesn’t feel too tacky, even despite the booths being lined with a tropical bird and tree pattern. In my experience it’s apparently quite difficult to pull off a Jamaican themed interior without seeming like a totally gaudy shtick. The paint already seems to be wearing, but I think that can add character to an extent, and the hand carved wooden desk that holds the cash register is a nice touch. Aside an awkward wait without additional seating for the people coming in for take out, they’ve done a great job of utilizing such a small space without feeling crowded or uncomfortable.

I ordered accras ($2.99) to start and the jerk pork lunch special ($9.99) which includes soup, coleslaw, rice and peas and some plaintains, plus a coffee. The lone waitress was easily overwhelmed and struggled to keep up with take out orders and diners. Perhaps it was uncharacteristically busy, perhaps more waitstaff is required at lunch or perhaps she needs to be more organized. I don’t know, but I read through two sections of a newspaper before even receiving my coffee, which tasted burnt.

The first item to arrive was the accras. I’m always a sucker for ordering these salt cod fritters. I received three large fritters with a paper boat of tartar sauce. They were exceptionally greasy, heavy and under seasoned without much cod contained in any bite. A touch more spice, salt and better frying technique would make these a good appetizer for the price though.

The vegetable soup came in a small bowl with a package of Premium Plus crackers. It was loaded with knobs of soft potato, a chop of carrot and tiny shreds of soft starch that looked like orzo cut in half. Too little salt and far too much pepper, but an otherwise decent, family style restaurant type soup with good comfort value while it’s still a touch chilly outside.

When the pork arrived it looked amazing. Nicely charred in a nice pool of sauce with a neat mound of rice and peas. On the border of the plate were two very soggy pieces of plantain glistening with oil and the “coleslaw”, which was actually an iceberg lettuce salad with a Kraft Italian type dressing. The rice and peas were the standard fare of starch, bland on their own, but boosted easily by sopping up the flavorful juices from the pork.

Unfortunately looks can be deceiving, and it’s a good thing my mouth watered when it was brought to my table or I would not have been able to choke the first bite down. The casserole dish contained eight or nine wedges a cubic inch or more large, but of those two chunks were entirely unchewable gristle and the rest were unquestionably the driest meat I’ve ever attempted to eat, including every Thanksgiving turkey I can think of. The sauce and rub had a great blend of spices and a nice hit of heat, but unfortunately none of that matters when you have to take a drink of water with every bite to enable chewing and swallowing.

I promised myself an ice cream treat to compensate for the lackluster lunch and waited for the waitress to come around, fishing through her apron filled with crumpled receipts, to pay the bill. Of all that made up my lunch experience at Anancy, I’d have to say the Haagen-Daz bar I picked up after I left was the highlight. A few tweaks could have easily turned the meal around though, so maybe they were just having an off day, but I can’t see myself going back any time soon to find out for certain.

It’s not without its faults, but they have been few in our repeat visits. The deep-fried potatoes would be preferably substituted for nice flat top crisped wedges, the thin unripened wedges of “fresh” fruit could be disposed of (though those are common foibles in a majority of breakfast haunts) and since a press pot option for coffee is offered, someone should really learn how a French press functions.

While I definitely don’t recommend paying extra for the acidic warm brew of water and suspended grounds that will inevitably end up mostly in your cup (the drip coffee is reasonably suitable), I have no complaints about the rest of the breakfast. The smell of bagels is as welcome as any when you walk in through the doors, especially during the brisk weather we’re having while trailing into spring. The cafe houses a wood burning oven and makes all their bagels on site so that they’re still warm and fresh when they hit your plate, rather than being shipped across town and reheated. People line up separately for take out, so take a detour to get to the dining room.

The room is an almost perfect square with many tables in close quarters, though even when packed with both adults and children in as heated as morning discussions will get, the decibel level is never uncomfortable. This from a guy who gets frustrated easily when he can’t recognize the words coming out of his own mouth when attending a bustling bistro. Many of the seats are filled with obvious regulars, though it may be hard to tell which as the more attentive staff will treat you like one as well, even if it’s your first time visiting.

I have read that people consider the menu of limited variety, but I take this to mean the omission of pancakes, waffles and the like are heavily frowned upon. You will not get your starchy, syrupy goodness here. However, if you feel as I do that a good breakfast is dependent on the reliability of how you prefer your eggs and the bread to sop your yolks, you could do far worse for $5.99. Plain, sesame, poppy, all-dressed or the borderline sacrilegious cinnamon raisin are all available and come with a proper spreading knife to adulterate it as you see fit. If you’re looking for something unbagel-like though, you’ve come to the wrong place. Three slices of bacon, sausage or black forest ham will round out your plate.

The restaurant is also open in the evenings and, at least during these hockey playoffs, could potentially be a good place to watch the game on their three plasma televisions and enjoy a cold beer or five by ordering a bucket of Moosehead for only $13.99.

Even though Mommy Fish & Chips has been open for a little over a month, the boast being “the original since 1972″. This confused me for a while until I saw a small mention on the back of their menu with an address for their “flagship” location in Lachine.

This is a modest establishment still feeling things out. The only conversations we heard over lunch hour were from the television behind us set to CNN, as we were the only customers in the place. There are only a handful of tables topped with malt and white vinegar, ketchup and napkins, a pop cooler and then a counter dividing us from the kitchen. A large, mostly empty shelf showcases unrefrigerated surplus of sodas and items that seem out of place, like $1 packages of ramen noodles.

We went up to the register and ordered a cheeseburger ($3.50) and a medium (two piece, $8.25) fish and chip platter to share from a friendly older gentleman. It wasn’t until I got home with a take out menu that I realized there was a dine in coupon for an extra piece of fish for only $1 that would’ve made the fish plate $6.65 instead. Ah well.

The loaded burger is fixed up with processed Cheddar cheese, tomato, lettuce, coleslaw, relish, mustard and ketchup like an adulterated Quebecois steamie (which you could order for $1.60, if you wanted). All the vinegary condiments are quite nice to cut the salt of the highly seasoned patty and, aside from the top of the bun being smeared with a slick of grill grease when it was warmed, was quite enjoyable. If you enjoy the type of burger served up at fairgrounds or similar, this won’t disappoint at all.

The batter on the fish was a little thick but cooked to a delicious golden brown. The meat inside was quite a generous chunk of tender and moist white fish (I’m assuming haddock, but correct me if I’m wrong here). The tartar sauce was a bit thick and too mayonnaise-y for my liking, but the extra lemon wedges helped things along. The homemade coleslaw had a tangy zip and was quite enjoyable. The fries were hand cut and fried to a deep brown that gave them a crisp exterior and soft, creamy interior, perfect for forking into your face and a great bed for poutine, which we didn’t try.

Other fried offerings include a calamari meal ($6.95), clam strips ($5.95), giant shrimp (oxymoronic at $8.95) and breaded scallops ($9.25). A bowl of clam chowder is only $2.75, which would be nice to pop in for on a cold winter day. Drinks are only $1.25 across the board, with the exception of Stewart’s sodas at $2.00 a pop.

There is free delivery for orders over $10 (including taxes) at (514) 564-3666. They only accept cash at this time.

In my mind, the hallmarks of Au Pied de Cochon are of it being a temple of foie gras and celebrating its abundance and richness. It might be a good testament to slow food, but it is an exploitation of indulgent appetites. The head to tail eating and local Quebec ingredients come a distant second to this theme. So, heed this as a disclaimer that my opinion of this restaurant was already skewed before dining here, because it is everything about dining experiences that I typically avoid, and also because, even though I thought I ate fairly modestly, my bowels responded afterward as though I’d been dining for a week on Olestra. With that in mind, aside from portion control and a rather lacking of vegetable accompaniments, I was mostly pleased with the food.

Duluth is situated almost exactly halfway between the Mont Royal and Sherbrooke metro stations, which on a chilly night is not a lovely walk. Since the restaurant is so notorious there is no prominent signage, look for the large windows and neighboring Vertige as an indication that you’ve arrived. On a summer’s day, the windows are open to the busy streets and sounds of the plateau and the hostess station is easily accessible. During the winter though, the doorway becomes an awkward container of coats and concentrated patrons.

We were meeting some friends (and their friends) on a Wednesday night at 6pm and had a reserved table at the back of the restaurant because we were with children as well. Au Pied de Cochon offers a lengthy wine list that nearly exceeds their capability to store their selections, as is clearly evident by the piled cases in the glass-walled room of wine that we sat next to.

One thing Au Pied de Cochon definitely is not is pretentious. The feeling is bistro meets cabane a sucre, with warm, rustic woods, a basic scattering of tables and a simple, lengthy bar making up its mid section. The prices are ridiculously reasonable for what you receive. The staff are extremely eager, friendly and helpful (and nice to look at), making the setting very accommodating and comfortable. This is both good, because you’ll be sitting there for hours, and bad, because when a surprisingly small space full of very comfortable people and liquor get acquainted, the volume can get exceptionally loud. Know that eating here is the opposite of dining at the library, and if you’re a quiet man like myself, yelling across the table will eventually become a more futile means of conversation than charades.

As our company arrived we ordered a few appetizers; the foie gras cromesquis ($3.50), tomato tartlet ($6.50), French onion soup ($7.00) and headcheese croquettes ($9.50). We also received a few baskets of the signature sourdough bread, a dense, crusty loaf with a mild sourness that mostly appeased the children because the adults knew there would be no room or such things in our bellies.

The cromesquis come in duos and are essentially lightly battered and deep fried foie gras. This liquefies the foie gras and makes it incredibly hot, so we were informed by our waiter that we should prick them slightly and let them cool before popping them into our mouths. Scalding fat as a first course was a bit intimidating, but we were not scarred. Having foie gras literally pop in your mouth is a decidedly welcome experience.

The tomato tartlet was a rich and buttery crust topped with thin slices of tender tomatoes. It’s quite rich for a tart and for an appetizer, but that’s sort of the theme here. The French onion soup is not really soup. Don’t be fooled. It’s a bowl of Gruyere baked with bread and a bit of delicious broth at the bottom. The headcheese was my favorite of the three appetizers that we tried, heavily seasoned with a very pleasant texture.

The specials of the evening were a whole lobster, grilled veal liver or a veal T-bone, none of which steered me off the menu. We would later see the T-bone arrive at a neighboring table, in all its glory, like an eating contest steak that you would get for free if you managed to eat it all. I had pictured it large, but it was more like if you had bought a Mini and saw a Hummer drive up. I mean, it’s veal. Who knew a cut from a baby cow could even be so large? The same must be said for the ribs. As our waiter described the ribs with a hand gesture as if riding a bicycle, they arrive in comical Flintstone style that obscure the view of the person across from you when placed on the table.

Most of what interested me that night was the appetizers that I hadn’t tried yet, but I decided on the cassoulet ($26) instead. Curiously, the cassoulet is also available in a can to go for the same price. It seems unfair to me that the dine-in price should be the same as the heat it up yourself variety, but with the sum total of all its ingredients, I can’t say it’s an unfair price, but more about that later. My wife ordered the steak frites ($23.00) although I tried to get her to order the happy pork chop ($21.00) just so I could sample it. The rest of our table ordered the pied de cochon/pigs foot ($22.00), duck in a can ($37.00), foie gras hamburger ($39.00) and the foie gras poutine ($23.00) for the table to share.

Then we waited. We waited a lot. So we did what a table full of friends do while they wait and we drank. $5 for a beer seemed very reasonable, but the glasses unfortunately are not pints. Our more inspired wine connoisseur ordered a bottle of Yannick Pelletier Coccigrues 2005. I’ve never claimed to know anything about wine and this was probably outside the out reaches of my budget, but was very nice to drink.

Even for a Wednesday night the restaurant was packed chair back to chair back and I was starting to feel nervous for the young lady that kept bringing drinks and filling the water glasses as even at model dimensions she awkwardly squeezed through narrow gaps. I think it’s safe to say it’s not an uncommon occurrence for the kitchen here to be in the weeds on a nightly basis. Even on items that require little more at service than heating up a can, how could they not be with their popularity? I was getting very hungry and impatient around 9, when I started to feel a bit dizzy from the alcohol on the empty stomach I’d been maintaining for this event and developing a headache as well from all the noise. Our cutlery and condiments arrived around 8:30 which felt promising, but when the food arrived around 9:30 I was tired and ready to leave.

The duck in the can easily tacks on a half hour wait by itself. A clearly labeled 27 on the top of the can indicates the cooking time, something they’ve clearly worked hard to perfect. The duck is plopped out onto a plate with several shakes a guttural squishing noises. It is cooked perfectly medium rare. The simple preparation is marked on the can featuring half a magret (a huge foie gras raised duck breast), 100g of foie gras, 60ml balsamic meat glaze, half a head of roasted garlic and 180ml of cooked, buttered cabbage. Of all the dishes that could feed four people, this would have been the most likely for me to devour myself.

(Un)fortunately, this was not what I had ordered. The cassoulet arrived in an earthenware dish large enough to feed a family and a sizable portion of various meats for all. Toulouse sausage, a leg of duck confit, a large chunk of pork belly, some bacon, foie gras and a whole bunch of bean stew. I wouldn’t be surprised if I’m missing something in my recollection. It’s odd to describe something so savory as decadent, but it doesn’t seem out of place here. This is an almost ideal cassoulet, to be honest, though I could have done with more pepper and 1/5 the leftovers.

Shannon’s steak frites was an incredible dish. Perfectly cooked steak that was surprisingly tender for a bistro cut with a rich pool of sauce. The frites came in a large paper cone with poorly distributed salt, so even though they were cooked in duck fat, lacked much flavor, though this was easily rectified by dipping into the glorious pond of gravy from the communal foie gras poutine. The foie gras on the foie gras poutine is wholly unnecessary in my opinion, but the true meat flavor of the gravy, generous chunks of cheese curd and duck fat fried fries make it easily one of the best in the city.

The foie gras hamburger lacks a bit of presentation punch, I think because of all things excessively large I’m used to seeing hamburgers fit the bill. I only had one bite of this, but the spicy arugula salad with a balsamic glaze really brighten up the richness here. I think there were also oven roasted tomatoes involved. A few pickles garnished the side of the plate. This quickly became a knife and fork affair. I think I would suggest another menu offering, if only because you can get a burger anywhere, the price is steep, and there are so many unique things to choose here.

I only had a bite of the dish that shares the same name as the restaurant, but the pigs foot is also clearly a safe choice. The meat is copious and tender and served with rich mashed potatoes and a whole grain mustard to help balance it all.

Who had room for dessert at this point? Well, all of us, apparently, as we ordered three. I was tempted to try the maple churros and café Robidoux ($13.50) but resisted. Shannon and I shared the lemon meringue pie ($5.75) and had a bite of the oven baked apple ($6.00) and pudding chômeur ($8.00).

Dessert is somewhat of a blur for me. The meringue was nicely piped and torched and covered a fairly sweet and buttery lemon curd, but it all sat atop a rather tough and tasteless puff pastry shell. I know I tried the baked apple, but I don’t remember what it tasted of other than apple itself. The pudding chômeur was definitely my favorite of the desserts, but at that point in the evening, one bite of the sweet maple bread pudding was more than enough for me. I finished my coffee ($2.75) and we awkwardly made our exit around 11pm – a roughly five hour service for three courses.

We have such a pessimistic view of the word diet, based on a definition of strict limitations, but a diet is more properly defined by what you do eat, rather than what you do not. A diet defined by contrast to indulgences will only be seen as punishment and denial of gratification, and of course, a perpetual denial of gratification will only lead to persistent cravings (or is that spiritual enlightenment? I often get these things confused.)

The old adage of “everything…” does not pertain to some appetites who know no moderation. If only there were a pill you could take that would satiate all of your nutritional needs and your hunger, freeing yourself of the time-consuming task of eating and the burdens associated with it. We have vitamins and appetite suppressants; flavor and texture simulations; so why haven’t we made the leap to true meal replacement pills?

Food is more than taste, vitamins and nutrients. Even if we could isolate everything essential to human health and could fix them into an ideal delivery system combined with desirable flavor profiles, it would not be enough. We need to take in calories, and you simply cannot get enough calories from taking a few pills.

When you look at a nutritional label, the calories are broken down by carbohydrates, protein and fats. Both carbohydrates (excluding fiber, which passes through the body undigested) and protein provide four calories per gram, while fats provide nine. I’m sure it speaks volumes about me that I spend portions of my free time calculating how this information is falsified in some way for marketing ploys. Who knew simple addition and rounding could be so deceptive? But I digress.

Fat clearly being the most efficient delivery of calories, you would still need to consume about 225g of pure fat (approximately a cup) to meet the average 2000 calorie needs of an adult. Combined with glycerin and formed into capsules… that’s a whole lot of capsules. And that whole lot of capsules would still be too few, as the body will not function too well on pure fat and multivitamins alone.

While we’ve managed to isolate nutrients and fool our mouths and brains, the rest lays in the realm of impossibility. Which is certainly good news for those of us happy to eat real food, lest we succumb to the perils of heavily commercialized nutrient-fortified super “foods” in their place…

It is in large part due to Accum’s publication that raised awareness about the widespread use of contaminants in food, that started a snowball effect which eventually led to development of organizations like the FDA. You might be surprised to know that it wasn’t until 1906 that the FDA passed the Pure Food and Drugs Act that prohibited adulterated and misbranded food and drugs. Little more than a century ago, people didn’t even have the common security of knowing that their food was safe. While the FDA occasionally comes under scrutiny, having such an organization in place has definitely improved our public health in many ways.

There have been comparatively few issues with contaminants in our food in recent history. The debauchery of our food no longer poses such dramatic risks to our health as lead in our diet. However, Accum did not just write about direct consequence to our health, but ways of deceiving the public to buy products of inferior quality. Although there is regulation preventing completely unsubstantiated claims, it is still possible to skew the results of research and use suggestive and misleading marketing — implying greater benefits and omitting shortcomings — to sell products.

There are illegal deceptions taking place in this regard — impure olive oils, wines and cheeses claiming authenticity and fetching a high market value that have received media attention lately — and legal ones. An innocent example, to compare the times, would be the use of arrowroot in the past to thicken spoiling milk to pass off as cream. This was a technique once considered a dishonest business practice, but it is now part of a thriving industry.

No, the cream on the shelves isn’t spoiled milk masquerading as something else, but many, if not all of the most reputable yogurt producers use starch and/or gelatin to thicken their products. This not only appeases the producers, because it costs less money to produce, but the public as well, who want a cheap, low-fat and low-calorie yogurt without really caring how it is accomplished or what sacrifice is made. These yogurts are of mediocre quality, but since they make up a predominate share of the market, there is little basis for comparison, and soon the public simply accept the replacement as as a genuine article.

Keeping in mind that all that is necessary to make yogurt is milk and bacterial culture, let us compare the ingredients list of plain yogurt from the major brands:

• Astro Original: Skim milk, cream, skim milk powder, tapioca starch, agar, pectin, guar gum and active bacterial cultures.
• Yoplait (Source): Skim milk, active bacterial culture, milk and whey proteins, modified cornstarch, gelatine, vitamin A palmitate and vitamin D3.
• Danone Activia: Skim milk, cream, concentrated skim milk, sugar, milk and whey protein concentrate, fructose, corn starch, gelatin and active bacterial cultures.
• Stony Field Farms: Lowfat cultured pasteurized organic low fat milk, pectin, vitamin D3 and active bacterial cultures.

It’s no wonder that yogurt products consisting simply of milk and/or cream and bacterial cultures, like those offered by Fage and Liberté, are viewed as such a remarkable indulgence in comparison. Although it’s perfectly legal to add stabilizers (alginates, gelatins, gums, pectins and/or starches) to yogurt, it is definitely to the detriment of the yogurts they are added to. I suppose it might just be my opinion that yogurt is meant to be thick, but the word is actually derived from the Turkish word yogen, which means thick, so I suppose that’s your call.

Yogurt is well-established for being good for your health and aiding in digestion. While all yogurts contain healthful bacteria as their presence is a legal requirement to stipulate yogurt in packaging and advertising, in my opinion, you’d be far better served paying for a quality yogurt product instead of what typically takes up the majority of space on the supermarket shelves — overly sweetened and void of most all the characteristics that make true yogurts so wonderful. They might be slightly more caloric, but they have the bonus of actually being immensely satisfying. Let us abolish the term “Greek-style” and simply adopt yogurt for what it should be: a creamy and luxorious indulgence worthy of the breakfast table.

It’s subterranean charms are not found within its decorum — a rather modest and altogether unremarkable facade — but in its rich history of relished late-night meals and student lunches; the friendly service offered by Mr. Boustan & Co. knowingly remembering you and your order, if not your name, when you return, and perhaps helping you remember other visits due to prior intoxications.  Pictures depicting regular diners to Grey Cup winners to Pierre Trudeau illustrate an institution favored by all walks of life.

Boustan’s offers a little more than the average Lebanese fast food usually puts forth, taking the extra step to grill your pita and stuffing it with crunchier components for a salad that can stand up to the heat.  Their shawarma, doused with garlic sauce, hummus and/or hot sauce, is a delicious and completely sodium-laden sandwich that likely won’t prevent your hangover, but will leave your stomach feeling at least momentarily contented.  An impressive selection of soft drinks will help you rehydrate and wash down your meal.

Your standard fare of tabouleh, babaghanouj, falafel and dolmades are available, but not particularly as noteworthy as their sandwiches.  Unfortunately, a glaring deficit of quality is found in their garlic potato accompaniment, a greasy reheated mess of deep fried and limp chunks of starch that I’m convinced are only appropriate to make whatever fortunate enough to be on the same plate shine in comparison.

Although they offer delivery, there’s rarely a slow moment within Boustan’s doors, and the phone is often left ringing while present customers are being attended to.  In my opinion, it would be best to head down and check it out in person if your hunger deems it applicable.